- Thomas Meehan Memorial
Thomas Meehan III was born on July 8th 1921 and grew up in Philadelphia. He graduated from Germantown High School in 1939 and spent two years training as a commercial artist, until America’s intervention in the war resulted him in enlisting – on March 16th 1941. He initially joined the calalry but disliked tanks, so volunteered to become a paratrooper, serving in B Company of the 2nd Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment before being given command of Easy Company after the departure of Captain Herbert Sobel. He was married to Anne Shore and they had a daughter Barrie.
At around 10:15 in the evening of June 5th, First Lieutenant Meehan, along with Easy Company, climbed aboard their Douglas C-47 Skytrain of the 439th Troop Carrier Command, at Upottery Airfield, East Devon, bound for drop zone C on the western flank of the American beaches. Before takeoff, Meehan wrote a letter and handed it out the door of the C-47 to be sent to his wife:
Dearest Anne,
In a few hours I'm going to take the best company of men in the world into France. We'll give the bastards hell. Strangely, I'm not particularly scared. But in my heart is a terrific longing to hold you in my arms. I love you Sweetheart – forever.
Your Tom
At around 11.10pm he took to the skies to embark on his mission which was to support the seizure of beach exits and support the push inland. His plane carried Stick 66 which included all of E Company’s Company Headquarters group. They flew over the Channel Islands and approached the Cotentin Peninsula and the intended drop zones. An unexpected bank of fog caused the pilots of the planes to spread out and many began to fly off course, unable to locate navigational landmarks below.
Meehan’s plane came under German anti-aircraft fire and was hit. It is believed that one of the white phosphorus grenades carried by the paratroopers was hit and started a fire and explosion in the back of the plane and a chain reaction would have started with other grenades. An eyewitness in another aircraft said "the plane left the formation and slowly initiated a right turn. I followed it with my eyes and noticed its landing lights coming on, I thought it was going to be all right. Then, suddenly, it came crashing down on a hedgerow and instantly exploded."
It had crashed near the village of Beuzeville-au-Plain (approximately 2 miles northeast of the town of Ste Mere Eglise), in the field behind the memorial, killing the crew and every man in stick 66, including Meehan and leaving Richard Winters as senior officer of Easy Company. It burned for days in the field in which it crashed. Later that day, Easy Company members including Forrest Guth, came across the burning plane but did not realise it was the one carrying their commanding officer. The wreckage is pictured below.
Dearest Anne,
In a few hours I'm going to take the best company of men in the world into France. We'll give the bastards hell. Strangely, I'm not particularly scared. But in my heart is a terrific longing to hold you in my arms. I love you Sweetheart – forever.
Your Tom
At around 11.10pm he took to the skies to embark on his mission which was to support the seizure of beach exits and support the push inland. His plane carried Stick 66 which included all of E Company’s Company Headquarters group. They flew over the Channel Islands and approached the Cotentin Peninsula and the intended drop zones. An unexpected bank of fog caused the pilots of the planes to spread out and many began to fly off course, unable to locate navigational landmarks below.
Meehan’s plane came under German anti-aircraft fire and was hit. It is believed that one of the white phosphorus grenades carried by the paratroopers was hit and started a fire and explosion in the back of the plane and a chain reaction would have started with other grenades. An eyewitness in another aircraft said "the plane left the formation and slowly initiated a right turn. I followed it with my eyes and noticed its landing lights coming on, I thought it was going to be all right. Then, suddenly, it came crashing down on a hedgerow and instantly exploded."
It had crashed near the village of Beuzeville-au-Plain (approximately 2 miles northeast of the town of Ste Mere Eglise), in the field behind the memorial, killing the crew and every man in stick 66, including Meehan and leaving Richard Winters as senior officer of Easy Company. It burned for days in the field in which it crashed. Later that day, Easy Company members including Forrest Guth, came across the burning plane but did not realise it was the one carrying their commanding officer. The wreckage is pictured below.
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The wreckage of the plane wasn't found until the 1950s, so until then, Meehan and all his men were classified as missing in action. Their remains were taken back to the USA and buried in a shared grave in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Archaeological digs at the site took place in the 1990s (above right) but only a few artefacts were recovered form the crash site; many are housed in local museums and some are in America at the Gettysburg museum. Some of Thomas Meehan’s belongings are at Dead Man’s Corner. The memorial was later erected near the site. It commemorates those lost in the crash. The Crew of Plane # 66: Pilot: 1st Lt Harold A. Capelluto Co Pilot: John J. Fanelli, Radioman: Norman E. Thompson, Navigator: Sgt Bernard Friedman, Engineer: Sgt Albert R. Tilloston. Easy Company HQ: Lt Thomas Meehan, 1 Sgt Bill Evans, Murray Roberts, Richard Owen, Elmer Murray, Carl Riggs, Herman Collins, Ralph Wimer, Jerry Wentzel, George Elliott, John Miller, William McGonigal, Gerald Snider, Sergio Moya, Thomas Warren, Elmer Telstad, Ernest Oats. |
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